Lambda Legal Urges Justice for Police Violence Victims

(New York, November 24, 2014) —Today, in the wake of the announcement that Officer Darren Wilson will not be indicted for shooting Ferguson, Missouri teenager, Michael Brown, Lambda Legal released the following joint statement from Jael Humphrey, Staff Attorney, and Beverly Tillery, Deputy Director of Education & Public Affairs for Education, Advocacy & Inclusion, its Criminal Justice and Police Misconduct strategists:

 

"While there will be debate and disagreement about the facts that led to the grand jury decision announced today in the fatal shooting of Michael Brown by Police Officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, MO, there is no debate about the facts that a terrible tragedy took place and that another unarmed young black man lost his life at the hands of a police officer. Around the country, we continue to witness similar tragedies and loss of life that have resulted from the deadly combination of racism, police profiling, excessive use of lethal force and a general disregard for the lives of black and brown people.

 

"We mourn Michael Brown and every victim of police violence by continuing to work for justice – for better policing and fairer laws. As an organization fighting for the rights of LGBT people and people living with HIV, we know that bias and prejudice can lead to injustice. We believe that these issues must be addressed in a systemic way and that regardless of one decision, all of us must be active participants in holding law enforcement agencies accountable for ending the unchecked assault on the lives of all of our communities that are marginalized and criminalized– whether on the basis of race, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression or economic status.

 

"We support U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and the Department of Justice in the continued investigation into the shooting of Michael Brown and the policing practices in Ferguson.

 

"Lambda Legal has a long history of standing up against misconduct by police and other government officials. We will continue to work with our sister LGBT organizations and other civil rights organizations to fight to make sure that police are properly protecting and serving all the public, including LGBT people and people living with HIV."